A Reason To Live
by Microtomb
Summary: Naruto finds a reason to live in a person he's never even met before, but as his future sensei it's her job right?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Well this is my first Naruto FF, please don't flame me lol, it starts out generic but I plan on taking it to slightly different places.

**A Reason To Live:**

Chapter 1:

Reason given

Some avoided him like the plague; casting steeled glares his way, at least the people who glared at him acknowledged he was there; others just outright ignored him, deciding he wasn't even worth a glance. Others saw him as a dog that needed to be beaten daily to be kept in check. Very few, if any, would ever raise a finger to help him, half the village wouldn't even humour the idea of helping him. He was the demon boy after all, the cause of all their suffering. His very existence was despised but he learned to cope with it. He figured it was natural for all children to be beaten on a daily basis, he figured it was natural for all children to be alone with no meaning to live. So he accepted it, whether it was a regular childhood or if he was just a 'special case' he decided to live with it. He learned to avoid the people of village, best to stay out of their way. He craved attention, so pulled pranks to get it , 2 years of so called 'attention-getting' did indeed succeed in getting him attention, just not the type of attention he was looking for. He stopped pulling pranks a little over a year ago, sure they got him the attention he wanted, no _needed_, but at the price of 3 broken ribs and internal bleeding, it was a price he wasn't going to willingly pay again anytime soon. To put it lightly, he was miserable; he had suffered more abuse in his 7 years than most had in their whole lives. Without a purpose to live, he wandered aimlessly through the streets of Konoha. His head was faced to the ground, a defeated look on his features along with his slightly slouched posture. Untold amounts of sadness could be seen in the young boys deep blue orbs. It was dark out and the boy had just started to head home after a meal at the Ichiraku ramen stand. It was the one place in the village where he could actually feel safe, secure and above anything else happy, they called him Naruto instead of 'demon brat' and they actually charged him fairly. Of course the visits to Ichiraku were only temporary, after taking 10 steps from the place he could feel his smile already slipping from his face.

A trench coated Chunin watched from a rooftop with an almost sympathetic look on her face. If anything the look on the boys face made her temporarily forget the annoyance she felt towards being assigned a 'bullshit baby sitter assignment'. Apparently the Hokage thought that she could 'relate' to him because of their similar standing amongst the villagers eyes, and because of this he thought she'd do the job properly unlike the numerous others before her. The usual ANBU who watched the boy usually did strictly that, watched. They never intervened when the villagers attacked and only took him to the hospital after he'd been broken, hell, some didn't even take him to the hospital and falsified reports saying he had gotten home safely. Of course, their definition of 'safely' meant he had gotten home with his life still intact. After following the boy for most of the day she was starting to get just a little pissed off with his moppy attitude, sure, she had been like that at one stage too, but life's tough, the kid would learn that eventually.

'_Hopefully he'll get over it soon_.' She thought to herself, '_That looks starting to piss me off._'

Although she wouldn't admit it, she had picked up a multitude of things from her traitorous sensei, one of those things being a complete and utter distaste for the weak, and this boy was exhibiting just that… _weakness_. The body language said it all; the slouched shoulders, his head facing the ground, that damned pitiful expression… he looked defeated. She was so tempted to jump down and have a long 'talk' with the boy, but was under strict orders to keep contact to nil unless a reason to intervene arose, and oh how lucky she was. With all the gaki's mopping he didn't even realise that he'd bumped into someone until they'd grabbed him by his shoulder.

"Purrrfect." She cooed.

Naruto didn't even register that a hand had been laid on his shoulder until his body would move no longer. Brought out of his musings of a better life, he now faced reality, which had unfortunately for him, taken form in that of a large burly man. When the man saw the boys face his grip tightened causing Naruto cry out in pain.

"You think you can just go around walking into whoever you like _Demon brat_?" He spat.

The look of murder in the man's eyes made Naruto cower slightly.

"N-no sir, I jus…"

"I don't want your excuses." The man cut in. "Just accept your punishment for being born."

Naruto just slumped his shoulders in defeat.

'_I guess it's too much to ask for a day without getting beaten._' He thought.

The man delivered a powerful Jab to Naruto's face that sent the boy sprawling to the ground. The man advanced and Naruto felt the warm blood leak out of his nose as it sprayed in an aerosol as he went flying from a brutal kick to the head. When the man raised his foot to finish it off by stomping Naruto's head in, the boy disappeared, and in his place was a Kunai, sharp point facing up. The man who had already sent his foot down with all the force he could muster, could do little to deter the course of his foot. A loud scream of agony emanated from the man's throat as the Kunai ran completely through his foot. A woman appeared in a whirl of leaves behind him and sickly sweet, whispered in the man's ear.

"It's a bit late to be beating up little kids isn't it?" The voice asked almost playfully.

The man turned around slowly to see his attacker only to have his face met with a fist. The man crumpled to the ground unconscious and Naruto's so called saviour spat on him.

"Asshole." She muttered.

Naruto, who found himself a few metres away, looked on in amazement as the girl dropped the man with one punch. He watched as she spat on his unconscious being then muttered something incoherent. After staring down at the man's body in disdain for a few more seconds, she promptly turned her attention to Naruto. As she approached, Naruto was too in awe of her performance to notice the disapproving look she wore. Just when she was about to go off on him for being a good for nothing mope and walking into someone he shot her a question with no minimal amount of enthusiasm.

"That was awesome! How did you do that?"

She was a bit taken aback by this as she was never one to receive praise, so she found herself momentarily forgetting her anger.

"Well I'm a Shinobi so it wasn't that big." She said grinning, ever so humble.

Naruto gave her a dead panned look before replying.

"What's a Shinobi?"

She returned his dead panned look.

'_Is this kid serious?_'

After roughly explaining what a Shinobi was the boy seemed to understand it.

"So basically you get trained to beat people up?" He asked, surmising all of what she had told him.

She sweat dropped but decided he had a rough idea, add on the fact she couldn't be bothered explaining so she just nodded her affirmative.

"That's right gaki, Shinobi are the protectors of this village and you have to be exceptionally strong to be one."

"So could I be a Shinobi?" He asked expectantly.

She smirked before disappearing in a swirl of leaves and reappearing behind him.

She leaned forward and in that sickly sweet voice of hers whispered in his ear.

"Do you think you have what it _takes_ to be a Shinobi?"

Naruto shuddered but replied a "Yes" that was steeled with conviction.

She smirked one more time thinking about how much he had changed over the last 10 minutes. 1 second he looks about ready to commit suicide, the next he looks like a man with a purpose.

"Seeing as your serious, I'll tell the Hokage about your decision, for now you should get home, it's getting late." She said ruffling his hair.

Naruto beamed at her and grabbed onto her waist hugging her.

"Thanks…uh, what's your name?"

Slightly blushing from the hug the Chunin replied.

"Anko."

Naruto let go of her, grin never leaving his face.

"Alright see you later Anko-chan."

He waved goodbye to her as he ran off home.

'_Anko... '__**Chan**__'?' _She thought incredulously.

"Stupid gaki."

The next day Naruto found himself in the Hokage's office.

"Naruto, it would seem you have shown interest in becoming a Shinobi of this village." The Sandaime started.

"Hai Ojisan, after seeing what Anko-chan can do I've decided I want to be a Shinobi."

Naruto said with the utmost conviction.

"Yes, Anko is an exceptional Shinobi, however you must have other reasons for wanting to become a Shinobi?" He asked.

"Hai, if I become a Shinobi I will be able to protect myself, but other then that I will have a reason to live." Naruto said dead serious.

Sarutobi had never seen Naruto so serious about anything before.

"A reason to live?"

"Until now, I've just been there, doing nothing but getting beat up by everyone. If I become a Shinobi I can help the village and make them acknowledge me."

By now the Hokage was more then convinced that Naruto was ready and willing to become a Shinobi.

"Are you aware of the consequences a Shinobi's life may have?"

"Hai."

The Sandaime smiled at the boy.

"Very well Naruto, you shall be enrolled in the ninja academy at the start of next year, until then prepare yourself as best you can."

Over the months Naruto trained rigorously, unfortunately he was completely clueless on most aspects of a Shinobi, so his main focus was Taijutsu. Every morning when he got up he'd try doing 100 push up, of course this never worked out and he usually gave up around 60. He'd go to the training grounds to work on his form against the wooden dummies, being a civilian he wasn't suppose to be there but training ground 5 had been deserted for awhile so it was fine. When his birthday came around the Hokage even got him training weights for his ankles, they were 10 pounds each and all he had to do was pour chakra into them to increase the weight. Channelling his chakra in itself was a mission so pouring chakra into his weights was a good chakra control exercise. He had come up with his own Taijutsu style, more out of necessity then anything else, because how was he supposed to practice if he didn't have a style? He hadn't named it yet but the Hokage had willingly accepted Naruto's invitation to come watch his form. It was a bit unorthodox and could use much refinement but it was definitely impressive. It revolved mostly around dodging rather then blocking and swift but effective kicks. It was definitely a more technical style and the Sandaime wouldn't have believed Naruto had made it up unless he had seen it for himself. By the time the first day of the academy rolled around Naruto was wearing 30 pounds of weight per leg as if they were nothing. He noticed the glares he was receiving from the parents as if to say 'stay away from my child' but he didn't care, he was too happy to care, he was going to be a Shinobi!

**A/N:**

Lol, lame ending I know but couldn't think of anything better, the main reason I had to stop there was because I don't know ANY of the Japanese terms for Jutsu, the only Jap terms I know for Naruto are the ones stated in the story along with, Dobe, bunshin. I couldn't go into the academy scene because I don't know the terms for replacement technique and stuff, So if you want me to continue I'd really appreciate you guys posting down some Jutsu's and Jap terminology's or linking me to a place where I can find them. Anko's awesome :D. Ages Anko 15, Naruto 7. Can't help but feel I wrote Anko ooc but she's young so ill change it up when it moves along.

As for my other stories, I'll post a chapter for both and then put them on temporary Hiatus.

MT goes Bye BYE!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

Thanks to ChromeL for you list of terminology's it really helped me and inspired me to write this chapter.

**A Reason To Live:**

Chapter 2:

Yet Another Reason

The parents didn't stay very long, most only came to drop their children off and give them words of encouragement or advice. The advice usually pertained to a certain blonde haired 'demon' and that they should stay well away from him. Most of the new years didn't know who he was so he hoped he would be able to make at least one friend. The 3rd and 4th years however knew him very well, some even retained memories of the day their parents were taken away forever by 'him'. A certain group of 4th years sent menacing glares his way, but he wasn't the same pushover as he was a few months ago, the old Naruto would've cowered or bowed his head in shame, this Naruto however glared right back. The academy still had a good ten minutes until the doors opened and with most of the parents gone, one of the more cocky 4th years thought it would be a good idea to make an example of someone to show his superiority, and who better then the demon brat. With a puffed out chest and an over sized ego the lanky Genin wannabe strutted over to Naruto. Without warning he shoved Naruto to the ground, said action catching everyone's attention within the vicinity. Naruto grumbled incoherent curses about 'just one day without' as he picked himself up off the ground. The lanky boy merely sneered at him and in a cocky voice delivered his challenge.

"Is that all you've got? If you wanna be a Shinobi you shouldn't be caught off guard so easily. Your practically begging me to kick the crap out of you aren't ya?"

Anko who was still on her 'assignment' was infuriated by this over-confident asshole, she was about to intervene and put him in his place… that is, until she saw the look in Naruto's eyes, it was one of pure confidence.

'_Let's see what this little gaki's smirking about._'

The air around Naruto was one of complete calm.

"If you really think you can do that again while you have my attention, then I guess I'll have to kick the shit out of your head so you can think straight." Naruto replied with a smirk falling back into a relaxed battle stance.

The lanky student growled out his reply.

"We'll see which one of us can think straight after this."

The angry genin went for a vicious right hook, but there was no technique behind it, a mad brawlers move at best. Before the hook was even half way to reaching him, Naruto stepped to side. The punch whizzed harmlessly past his face, and the boy's eyes widened momentarily before continuing his assault. Whether it was a punch or a kick Naruto continued to weave his way around all the blows, the lanky boy on the other hand was getting more desperate, he would **NOT** be humiliated in front of everyone by this **KID**!

With the appropriate hand signs, the boy emitted a small amount of chakra before 2 puffs of smoke covered him. When the smoke cleared 2 perfectly formed Bunshins along with the original stood in front of Naruto.

Naruto looked at them analytically for a second before confirming what he needed.

Inwardly the lanky boy was laughing his ass off.

'_There's no way that kid can tell which is the real me, its over._'

All 3 images closed in on Naruto and just as they were about to strike he reacted by delivering a powerful spinning kick to the middle images abdomen. The boy looked at him in disbelief as he fell to the ground clutching his stomach in pain, the images on either side of him abruptly vanished.

"H-how did you know?" He asked severely winded.

"Your Bunshins, they were too perfect."

The boy looked at him in pained confusion.

"What d-do you mean?" He asked gasping for breath.

"Out of the 3 only one of you was taking deep laboured breaths as if he'd been fighting, the 2 Bunshins you made weren't tired at all, add in the fact you were sweating and they weren't, it was easy for me to tell the difference."

Naruto's outward appearance was one of complete calm, and to some he actually seemed smart, but inside he was fist pumping and yelling to the skies.

'_I'm so cool! Just look at how they're all staring at me! They must be so jealous!'_

His glory was short lived however as a teacher came running to the scene. He had his hair back in a ponytail similar to Anko's and a scar running across his nose. As his eyes fell upon the scene before him, he found the Kyuubi container standing over one of the 4th year students who was clutching his stomach. He already had a biased idea of what had happened formed in his head, all he needed was evidence.

"What happened here?" He asked the student on the ground completely ignoring Naruto.

A grin quickly formed in the boys mind before he replied.

"Iruka-sensei, t-that monster attacked me out of nowhere, he blinded sided me and just started attacking me for no reason." The boy feigned a scared voice to add the icing to the cake.

Iruka frowned before looking up at Naruto.

"Is that true? You know if it is you're likely to be expelled from here before you even start."

Naruto gave him a horrified look.

'_I can't be expelled! I just got here, my reason to live is to become a Shinobi!'_

"Sensei, please don't listen to him it's not true, he attacked me first." Naruto pleaded.

"Even if what you say is the truth, there's no way a 1st year who hasn't even attended the academy for one day could take down a 4th year in a fair one on one fight." Iruka replied.

He sighed in disappointment.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to side with my student here, from this day forward you are hereby ba-"

"It's true."

Iruka turned his head to see a raven haired boy approaching from the on looking crowd. The Uchiha symbol on his back didn't go unnoticed.

"What? You seriously expect me to believe that this Kid beat a 4th year student in a fair one on one fight?"

"Yes." He stated. His tone left little room for argument, it was almost like he was saying 'defy me and I'll have my clan on your ass in a second'. It was almost scary how intimidating he was, and he was only 8!

Iruka gave him a hard look; searching for any tell tale sign that he was lying, he found none.

"Fine, I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now." He said. "But make sure not to go around picking anymore fights outside of sparring. Got it?"

Naruto beamed, he was so close to having his dream crushed.

"H-hai Sensei!"

Iruka motioned for one of the other teachers to come take care of the lanky student.

"Alright everyone, class starts in 5minutes! Don't be late!" With that said Iruka opened the doors to the academy and the students eagerly filed in, most talking about the events that had occurred just prior. Naruto cast a glance to his side and saw the raven haired boy who'd come to his rescue still standing there.

"Why'd you save me?" Naruto asked curiously.

The raven haired boy turned his attention to Naruto.

"Because you're strong." He stated simply.

"Because I'm strong?" Naruto asked perplexed.

"Yeah, what would be the point in going through the academy when you know the strongest people aren't in attendance there to test yourself against."

Naruto took a moment to think about this logic before coming to the conclusion that it made sense.

"Well thanks, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He said extending his hand with a grin on his face.

The raven haired boy glanced at the hand before smirking and accepting it.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

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Anko looked on with what could be said to be a tender caring look.

"Looks like the little gaki's found a friend." She murmured to herself.

It took her a second to realise what she'd said before she started scowling.

'_What the hell do I care?_'

She watched as 2 boys made their way into the academy. Sighing she stood up from her place on the roof and stretched her tired muscles. Pouting she put her hand underneath her chin in a thinking gesture.

" What to do for 6 hours…. Hmmm…. Well I suppose I could always get some dangos and then get hammered…"

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Naruto and Sasuke took it upon themselves to arrive to the classroom fashionably on time. The moment they both stepped inside the classroom, the bell rung, as if it had been waiting for them and just them to start the class. They found their way to the back row of the classroom and took the last 2 available seats. Once they had been seated Iruka checked the attendance. When both of their names had been called out collective whispers could be heard throughout the class, Naruto for obvious reasons, the fight that morning had done wonders for his social standing in his peers eyes. However when whispers started when Sasuke's name was called Naruto had to raise an eyebrow, as did Sasuke himself, although the answer came quickly when whispers of 'hot' and 'cute' were heard. Naruto chuckled at this whilst Sasuke blushed a little trying to cover it up by looking annoyed. For the next 2 hours Iruka would go on about the expectations of a Shinobi and how you should be prepared to die… boring inconsequential stuff that Naruto already knew well enough and found himself becoming increasingly bored. Sasuke didn't look to interested either but they were saved when Iruka said they were going to go outside to work on some Taijutsu forms. Most of the class was ecstatic although Naruto and Sasuke could care less, they already had their own styles, but it was a hell of a lot better then sitting inside listening to someone lecture you about stuff you already knew. When the end of the Taijutsu lesson came it was Lunch time, however before they were released Iruka informed them that there would be a Taijutsu tournament at the end of the week as a means to see where the students were at in terms of that aspect. This of course meant more Taijutsu training and less bookwork.

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Naruto could be found eating by himself under a tree in the field. He didn't know where Sasuke had gone but assumed he had gone to eat with his friends. Fortunately for him those thoughts were crushed when he spotted Sasuke making his way over to him. Naruto gave him a curious look as Sasuke sat down next to him.

"Why aren't you eating with your friends?" He asked.

Sasuke cast Naruto his own curious look before replying.

"I am, that's why I'm sitting here."

Fortunately this one time Naruto was able to read between the lines.

'_I have a friend!_'

Sasuke just smirked at the look of childish glee that adorned Naruto's face.

**A/N:**

I really liked this chapter! No it's not gonna be Yaoi between Naruto and Sasuke if it seemed that way, but just giving Naruto plenty of reasons to live. This is gonna be purely Naruto Anko fic. I ask for your guys help, I started writing this story merely out of impulse, I really wanted to write an Anko fic so I wrote this. The plot I have so far is extremely Vague, so any ideas that you guys could contribute would be really appreciated. Don't email me cos my email is flooded with emails from youtube so I'd never know if I got one from you, just Pm me on the site, this is your chance to have a say of what YOU want to happen in this fic. R&R is ALWAYS appreciated as long as if you do flame, you give me a reason. Critique is also not only welcome but WANTED!

For now the Average words per chap is 2k and I hope I can keep it that way. Just remember reviews will get ya chapters faster.

MT says Ma ba ngo ka


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

Thnx to Demons kin, your review was the reason I uploaded so early. I don't usually do daily updates but if I get one a day, ill upload a chap a day. SO a simple deal I put out to you guys, gimmy a review and ill give you a chapter.

**A Reason To Live:**

Chapter 3:

Goodnight

Anko was nursing a bottle of sake in her favourite bar with a bored expression when Kurenai saw her. The red eyed, black haired genjutsu specialist approached her friend with an amused look on her face.

"Drinking already? You must have had a tough day."

Anko spared Kurenai a glance before gesturing for her to sit down.

"Tough? Hardly, I'm stuck on some baby sitting mission and I'm bored out of my mind."

"You're still on that assignment?" Kurenai questioned.

"Yeah, only for another month though, but the gaki has to go to the academy so that leaves me with 6 hours to do nothing." She replied glumly.

Kurenai frowned.

"You don't have to be drinking the whole time he's at the academy, why don't you train, I'm sure your Sense…" Kurenai stopped herself as she realised what she was just about to say.

"A-Anko, I'm.."

Anko looked at Kurenai with a hard glare before letting up and sighing.

"No, it's alright Nai-chan, I probably should get some training in."

'_Because I'm gonna have to be stronger if I want to kill him._'

With that thought in mind Anko drained the rest of her drink before setting off for an intense training session.

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Anko and Kurenai walked towards the Academy as was it about time for the kids to be let out. Kurenai had offered to be Anko's training partner and to say that it was a rigorous session would be a blatant understatement. The amount of times Kurenai had come close to death was numbering in the double digits, but it had let Anko vent and it seemed to cheer her up considerably so it was worth it. As they approached the academy they notice a small gathering out the front, and at the centre of it was Naruto and the Uchiha boy. Apparently the Lanky boy who got his ass kicked in the morning hadn't gotten enough of a beating and had brought his friends along. Anko sighed before turning to Kurenai to reveal a wicked grin.

"Looks like my jobs calling."

And with that she vanished with the breeze.

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Anko appeared in front of Naruto just in time to intercept the punch that had been thrown at him. She caught it with ease and used the boy's momentum to throw him on his ass.

Anko pulled out a kunai and started absentmindedly twirling it around her finger. Collective gasps were heard as their ringleader was tossed aside like the child he was.

"Alright brats, listen up." She announced eyeing them dangerously. "You have 5 seconds to get the hell out of here. If any you are still here after that…" She licked her Kunai for emphasis.

"Then I'm gonna have some fun."

Half the boys shit their pants before bolting off in the opposite direction, her reputation as the 'crazy snake bitch' was more than enough to get them running, although the threats were an added bonus. Anko chuckled to herself as they ran.

'_That'll teach em_.'

Anko turned around only to have a blonde mop of hair wrap its arms around her waist.

"Anko-chan!" The boy exclaimed.

Anko once again found herself blushing and was wondering how the hell a 8 year old kid could do that to her, she however regained her composure and ruffled said kids hair.

"Ya miss me gaki?" She asked grinning.

To Naruto, it had been months since he'd last seen her, however Anko saw him on a daily basis, just not to his knowledge. Naruto nodded vigorously in response to her question.

"Mhmm, although I didn't need your help with those guys." He frowned.

Anko just laughed him off and ruffled his hair some more.

"Say kid, I'm sorta hungry, you wanna go get something to eat?" She asked. She had thought about doing this before, as it would be much easier to keep an eye on him and reduce the chances of him getting attacked to almost zero if she was by his side. At her offer Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Y-you mean like a date?" He asked expectantly.

Anko's mouth dropped open but no words came out.

'_If I didn't know any better I'd think he WANTS to go on a date with me.'_

After multiple seconds of uncomfortable silence Anko punched him lightly on the head.

"Of course not baka! I'm offering to treat you is all." Whilst Naruto was rubbing his head Anko glanced over to see the Uchiha looking a little left out.

'_I guess I can invite him too_.' She sighed inwardly. '_Since when did I start caring about brats?'_

"Oi, Uchiha, you wanna come too?"

Sasuke looked at Anko as if she had just offered him her hand in marriage. An uncharacteristic blush formed on his features before he nodded yes. Anko grinned at him as did Naruto.

"Alright, dangos on me!" She announced enthusiastically.

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Naruto and Sasuke sat on either side of Anko sharing the large portion of dangos placed in the middle of the table. The experience for the both of was one of pure happiness, for neither had had any friends prior to that day, and getting to bask in the company of one another was something they both delighted in. Anko also found it to be a somewhat enjoyable experience, spending an evening with 2 cute kids wasn't that bad after all. As soon as it started getting dark however Sasuke excused himself saying he should've been home a while ago but thanked Anko and actually smiled as he waved goodbye. Anko finished off the rest of the dangos and offered to walk Naruto home, at which he graciously accepted. As they walked to Naruto's apartment they got the odd glares sent their way, but Anko just glared right back prompting them to look away. When they finally reached Naruto's apartment it was quite late. He sent her a big smile.

"I had a great time tonight Anko-chan!"

Anko returned his smile.

"Yeah, me too gaki."

Naruto started looking down at his feet as if he was nervous. This didn't go unnoticed by Anko as she questioned him.

"Something wrong gaki?" She asked raising her eyebrow.

"W-well, I was wondering…" He stuttered out twiddling with his fingers. "Could you give me a goodnight kiss?"

For the second time that day she found her mouth hanging open, unable to speak.

Naruto having lost his spur of confidence opted for a quick retreat.

"Uh, haha, I was just kidding Anko-chan, goodnight." Before she could reply he had already gone inside and closed the door.

Anko was left standing there flustered.

'_I think I'm giving him the wrong impression, might do him some good if I stayed away from him for a bit. I mean, an 8 year old, asking me for a goodnight kiss? The idea is crazy…so why do I feel a little flattered?' _

Anko exhaled deeply before turning on her heels and leaving.

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Friday came quickly and it was finally time for the Taijutsu tournament. Almost every student had been training diligently because they wanted a high ranking to start off the year. Of course there were spars held throughout the year that would change the ranks around but it was always good to get a head start. Naruto hadn't seen Anko since the start of the week but thought nothing of it, it had been months in between their first and second meeting so he figured it would likely be that long again before he saw her again. Surprisingly Sasuke, the one who had shown next to no interest in any girls in the class, found himself asking Naruto if he'd heard anything about her. He was happy that Sasuke was opening up to him; he was usually quiet and didn't tend to speak multiple sentences at a time unless he was talking with Naruto. People had already begun to forget Naruto's amazing display of Taijutsu as it was quickly replaced of memories of him and Sasuke not participating in the class Taijutsu lessons. This was however a good thing as the class was starting to underestimate the 2, which would mean even more attention for Naruto when he showed them all up and kicked their asses!

**A/N:**

Next chapter the Taijutsu tournament and more. Since this chapter was a measly 1.5k words ill make sure the next chaps at least 2.5. I really wanted to get this up. Sorry for the gay ending, I really wanted to continue but then my net woulda turned off and I wouldn't have been able to upload this, cos my nets on a timer -.-

MT Sez Ja Ne!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Didn't update yesterday cause no review D: On a lighter Note this stories got 1k hits :D, that's pretty good for only having been made 2 or 3 days ago. Anyway a big THANKS to darthkamon, your review inspired me to update, as far as Sasuke bashing goes, I don't mind it but I'm not gonna write it, so don't worry bout that.

**A Reason To Live:**

**Chapter 4: **

Number one

Outside the gates of Konoha, 2 men wearing black cloaks with red clouds stood hidden among the environment.

"Are you sure this will work?" A gruff voice spoke, almost uncaringly.

"Oh, but of course. Konoha are such a such a helpful village after all." A sinister and playful voice responded.

"What of interrogation?" The gruff voice asked.

The snake-like man had a playful glint in his eye at this question.

"That's where your mind seal jutsu comes in."

The gruff hunched man was momentarily baffled.

"How did you know?" He asked menacingly.

"Oh come now, Sasori-kun, did you really think I wouldn't notice your so called _spy_."

Sasori narrowed his eyes at his snake-like counter part.

"Very well, I'll perform the seal, but this better get us the Kyuubi."

"Oh it will, Sasori-kun, but it will take time." The man chuckled.

Sasori grunted at the prospect of time.

"I hate waiting."

His counter part on the other hand could barely contain himself.

'_Soon the Kyuubi will be mine…along with an Uchiha.'_

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"Ok, we'll go over the rules one more time." Iruka announced to the eager academy students. "No Ninjutsu, Genjutsu or weapons of any type, these are purely Taijutsu matches. The match is over when you are either you able to continue fighting, you forfeit or you are knocked down for more then 3 seconds. If the match is too one sided I may announce a winner before the match is over to move things along. Are we clear on the rules?" He asked.

Everyone nodded vigorously, excited at the idea of testing their abilities, whilst a few didn't show quite the amount of enthusiasm as their peers; these were namely the Hyuuga girl who seemed more nervous than anything, the Nara boy who could be heard muttering about something being 'troublesome', as for the Aburame boy he however remained somewhat impassive. Naruto on the other hand was boasting about how he was going to kick everyones asses and Sasuke was simply smirking being quite eager himself. The students who did not come from prestigious clans were hoping that'd they'd be faced off against other non-clan students as the academy style, although well rounded, wasn't something that you wanted to be using against a special clan Taijutsu style. Iruka had everyone write their names on a piece of paper and put it in a hat, in which he promptly drew the first two names.

"Alright first off we have…Inuzuka Kiba, and… Uzumaki Naruto. You two come up front."

Kiba looked over his competition and snorted.

"Like this blondey even has a chance against me." He stated arrogantly. The Inuzuka were known for their fighting prowess as well as their exceptional agility, a lot of the students were glad they weren't facing Kiba and almost felt sorry for Naruto.

Naruto responded to Kiba's jibe.

"Don't worry Kiba-_**Chan**_, I'll make this fight one sided so Iruka-sensei will end it quickly."

Kiba simply smirked.

"Yeah, we'll see."

Kiba got into his Inuzuka fighting stance, getting low to the ground, whilst Naruto relax his body and fell back into his own. Iruka looked at both boys, who nodded their heads his way signalling they were ready; Iruka gave one last look before starting the match.

"Hajime!"

A feral snarl escaped Kiba lips as he rushed Naruto on all fours. He lashed out with swipe of his left hand, which was evaded barely by Naruto. Naruto in turn went for a high axe which Kiba waited until the last second to roll away from. As Kiba regained himself he made a rush for Naruto's legs, he was more then surprised however when Naruto simply somersaulted over him and kicked him in his retreating behind causing his face to be ground into the dirt. As Naruto landed he wasted no time in rushing Kiba. Kiba was still busy trying to get dirt out of his mouth when a powerful kick connected with the side of his skull, said kick sent the Inuzuka sprawling to the ground unconscious. Everyone was deathly silent whilst Iruka was straining to keep his surprise hidden.

'_Maybe he did really beat that 4__th__ year…_' Iruka thought.

Naruto turned to the rest of his classmates with a serious expression on his face. This expression however was replaced with a mad grin as he exclaimed.

"Did you see that? Hahaha I'm awesome."

Everybody sweat dropped before chuckling a little, others were thinking Naruto needed to eat some humble pie. Naruto walked over to Sasuke's side whilst Iruka called over the supervising Chunin, Mizuki, to take Kiba to the medical bay. Mizuki sent a scowl Naruto's way that few people missed before he disappeared with Kiba.

'_I wonder what his problem is…_' Naruto thought.

The fights that followed Naruto's weren't very memorable, the members of the more prestigious clans decimated most of the competition with the exception of Shikamaru who forfeited stating it was 'troublesome' and Shino who was disqualified for not throwing a single punch for the 10 minutes that his match played out. Whenever his opponent would get close he'd just walk away in the opposite direction. Naruto found himself thinking this boy was very weird. In the Semi-finals it was Sasuke versus Sakura, the girl being to busy talking about how she was going to prove herself to him didn't even notice when the boy rushed her and punch her in the side of the neck. She fell to the ground but was still very much conscious, however she had taken more then 3 seconds to get up and Sasuke had won. Sakura could be heard screaming at him about punching a girl when she was talking but was held back by her friend Ino. Outwardly Sasuke showed no emotion but inside he was smirking. Naruto had a somewhat harder match then Sasuke as he faced off against the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata. She was timid and shy but she had great technique and the use of her Jyuuken style was very effective against Naruto. Hinata had opted for the 64 strikes only to trip delivering the 3rd strike, she fell right into Naruto's uppercut and fell onto the ground sobbing. Naruto sweat dropped not knowing how to deal with sobbing girls, he tried consoling her as she kept calling herself a failure and he somewhat succeeded until Mizuki came and took her off to the medical bay; once again he shot Naruto a dirty look.

'_What the Hell's his problem?' _Naruto thought returning the glare.

Iruka coughed, getting everyones attention.

"Well, it seems we have our finalists." He announced. "Sasuke would you please come to the front."

Sasuke ran to the front rather then his casual bored walk, this surprised a few people and a murmurs could be heard among the crowd. The Uchiha rarely, if at all, showed enthusiasm. Sasuke assumed his battle stance as did Naruto, and as they were ready, Iruka begun the match.

"Hajime!"

The two friends stood their ground and stared each other off. Naruto was grinning madly whilst Sasuke was allowing himself a smirk. Getting impatient Naruto flew towards Sasuke with a flying knee, the Uchiha boy blocked it and went for a punch at Naruto's gut only to have his wrist caught. Naruto smirked as he tossed Sasuke onto the ground, Sasuke however twisted his body in the air, rolling to reduce the impact. He quickly recovered and threw a punch at Naruto's face, the blonde haired boy tried his best to dodge but was clipped and lost his balance. Sasuke promptly stuck out his leg aiding in Naruto's fall as he fell over it and smacked his face hard on the ground. Sasuke went for an axe kick to Naruto's prone body only for him to roll out of the way. The 2 boys then engaged in a rally of punches and kicks, Naruto was definitely quick enough to keep up with the Uchiha but his punches lacked the power that his kicks delivered and Sasuke's style was making it difficult for Naruto to land a decent kick. Further frustration was added as Sasuke landed a kick that made an opening to land a right hook to his face. Naruto found himself on the ground for the second time and was starting to feel battle worn. He needed to end it soon and he suddenly found the answer to his problems in the form of ankle weights. Naruto started to grin and Sasuke who was perplexed let up his assault.

"What's so funny?" He asked genuinely curious.

Naruto pulled up the material of his pants to reveal training weights and started taking them off.

"Training weights?" He raised an eyebrow.

Naruto said nothing as he laid the weights on the ground and fell back into his fighting stance. The grin never left his face.

Without further delay Sasuke charged Naruto with a straight jab. Naruto however displayed amazing speed; he avoided the jab whilst getting inside Sasuke guard and delivered a spinning kick to Sasuke's head. The Uchiha barely had enough time to bring his hand up to reduce the damage. The kick had turned Sasuke's vision away from where Naruto had been standing, and when he looked back Naruto was gone. Sasuke's eyes widened.

'_Where did he…_'

A soft tapping could be felt on his shoulder. As Sasuke turned around he instinctively kept his head low, which was the right move as a fist whizzed past where his head would have been. Sasuke tried to grab onto Naruto only to have him drop to the ground and sweep his legs from underneath him. With Sasuke on the ground Naruto was about to end the fight when Iruka called the match over. Naruto gave a relieved sigh and offered his hand to Sasuke to help him up. Sasuke, whose prides was somewhat hurt, was taking his loss pretty well and graciously accepted Naruto's hand. After all, what fun would it be if he was the strongest? At least with someone stronger then him he had a goal to work towards and would train diligently in order to achieve it. To Sasuke's surprise Iruka actually called the fight a tie.

"You both displayed amazing Taijutsu skills, Sasuke you controlled the majority of the fight with your flawless technique whilst Naruto had a ace in the hole with his pure speed. In technical terms you were both evenly matched, although both exhibited expertise in different areas then the other. As such I call this match a draw and for now, you two will share the rank of number 1 in Taijutsu. Congratulations." Iruka finished.

Sasuke gave one of his rare smiles whilst Naruto jumped into the air pumping his fist. Naruto was ecstatic. He was number one, and better yet he got to share it with his best friend.

'_Best friend?_' He wondered. '_Well he's my only friend…oh wait there Anko-chan…and Ojisan. Hmmm does Ojisan count…'_ He started getting off track until he saw Sasuke walking towards him.

"Hey Sasuke, are you my best friend?" Naruto asked both innocently and curiously.

Sasuke looked a little taken a back before blushing slightly and nodding his head.

"Haha, I have a best friend, thanks Sasuke." He said overjoyed.

Sasuke tried to act indifferent offering a grunt, but inside he was as happy as Naruto

With the end of the Taijutsu tournament the academy let out early for the day, as they would be busy listing everybody's rankings. It was around lunchtime and Naruto was hungry.

"Come on Sasuke lets go get some ramen!"

Sasuke paled at the idea of eating ramen for the 5th time that week, Naruto had taken to dragging Sasuke with him to Ichiraku's, the boy didn't mind ramen but the main reason he went was so he could spend time with a friend. He sighed exasperatedly before mentally cursing Naruto's love of ramen and following him.

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An ANBU border patrol team were doing the routine hourly check around the perimeter of Konoha. The grass was still green, the trees were still standing… everything was normal… until…

"Hey guys I found something!"

Observing from an over looking tree a snake-like man chuckled to himself.

'_How simple minded._'

**A/N:**

The plots finally moving along a little bit. Sorry the chap wasn't quite 2.5k, was 2.2 but you'll live eh :P I really want to write like a 8k chap rofl but for that I'd need, INSPIRATION! :D and where do I get inspiration! REVIEWS! So again I'd really appreciate your opinions on my story so far, I myself think it has lots of room for improvement so I'd like a second opinion on that. If I get 1 or 2 reviews I'll update tommorow, if not.. we'll see.

Till next time, MT GOES DISAPPEAR!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

RE-EDIT: 21/12/10

I took away the Line 'the snake bitch who sucked more cock' blah balh after multiple complaints. I have replaced it with _'the 16 year old 'snake bitch' blushing whilst holding a 8 year olds hand'. _I have decided to go with the approach of Anko as a virgin, as i was informed that the sexual advances by her are jus a mask, so just pretend that line never existed. I'd like to thank the people who voiced their opinion and cared enough about the story to help me change it._  
_

**A Reason To Live:**

**Chapter 5: **

**Your Orders Sir?**

The 4-man ANBU patrol surrounded the body. It was a battered and bruised girl who was seemingly on the verge of death, usually the ANBU would have rushed her to the Konoha hospital regardless if she was from the village or not… but one thing made them reconsider. The girl had a curse mark. The masks that adorned the ANBU's faces did little to cover their mixed feelings on the matter.

Sasori and his partner watched on from a tree, out of hearing distance, but had a very clear view of the events that were taking place.

"What makes you so sure they'll help her? If I were in their position I'd execute the girl immediately." Sasori stated blandly.

A chuckle was heard beside him.

"Simply because I know who that ANBU is." He said pointing to an ANBU with a dog mask. "He was always one to follow protocol, although loosely, but I know I can count on you, _Kakashi_."

The ANBU with the rat mask pulled out a kunai and slowly approached the girl's unconscious body.

"What are you doing rat? I don't believe I ordered you to execute the girl."

Rat stopped his advance and looked at his captain.

"But Senpai, the girl has a curse mark, even if she is but a child, with a curse mark she could become a serious threat, I don't believe taking her into the village to be a wise decision. Please allow me to exercis…"

"Stand down rat." The dog-masked ANBU captain said. "That's an order."

The rat masked ANBU hesitated, but with some reluctance pocketed his kunai.

"Rat, inform the Hokage of our discovery, Cat take her to the hospital. You have your orders, go."

"Hai."

Rat and Cat disappeared, leaving Kakashi and a confused Bull.

"Taicho, what about us?" Bull asked.

Kakashi slowly unsheathed his Kodachi and turned to Bull.

"Don't you find it a bit odd that one of Orochimaru's experiments conveniently wound up right on our doorstep when he was last sighted in rice country?"

"What are you suggesting Taicho?" Bull asked.

"If my guess is right… he's probably within the vicinity."

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"Hello Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san, what are you two doing here so early." Ayame greeted the two sweetly.

"Hey Ayame-chan, the Academy let out early so we thought we'd get some ramen for lunch." Naruto greeted with a smile.

'_**YOU**__ thought we'd get some ramen for lunch.'_ Sasuke added mentally with a grunt.

Ayame glanced at Sasuke who offered a curt nod as his greeting; she was among the few females outside of his clan who he could tolerate, as she wasn't trying to get all over him every conceivable chance. As Naruto and Sasuke took their seats their attention was diverted behind them as an ANBU, carrying what looked like a dying girl, had bowled over someone.

"Sorry bout that kid." The ANBU didn't stay long as they raced off in the direction of the hospital. The person who had been knocked over could be heard muttering something about 'troublesome' and on closer inspection, Naruto recognised the person as Shikamaru.

"Hey Shikamaru." Naruto called him over. "What was that all about?"

The Nara boy held no feelings of hatred towards Naruto and when asked why he simply replied he had no reason to. This in turn added another person to Naruto's list of 'people who I can converse with without them threatening or running away', although Naruto wouldn't go as far as to call Shikamaru his friend, but rather, a good acquaintance.

Shikamaru grunted as he picked himself up off the ground dusting his clothes off. He sighed heavily as he took a seat next to Naruto and turned to give him his attention.

"Not sure, although that girl he was carrying looked pretty beat up, I imagine that ANBU was just rushing her to the hospital."

"Did you get a good look at her?" Naruto asked somewhat curious.

"Yeah. I did."

Naruto waited for Shikamaru to elaborate, although he was not very forthcoming.

"And?" Naruto questioned.

Shikamaru gave him annoyed as if to say 'I can't be bothered telling you' before replying with the ignorant card.

"And what?"

This just seemed to get Naruto angry.

"Well what did she look like? Was she pretty?"

Before Shikamaru got the chance to answer a loud voice boomed out from inside the ramen stand.

"If you kids are gonna sit there all day and not order then find somewhere else to talk, your taking away my customers."

Naruto forgot his recent train of thought and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Oh come on Teuchi-Ojisan, you know I would never come here without buying some ramen."

Teuchi grinned at Naruto as he approached from the kitchen.

"Yeah I know, so what'll it be today?" He asked.

Naruto put his hand underneath his chin in a thinking gesture.

"Hmmm, today I think I'll go with two bowls of pork ramen."

"And you two?" Teuchi turned to look at Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"I'll have a bowl of miso ramen." Sasuke said.

"And I'll have the same as the Uchiha." Shikamaru finished.

"Alright two bowls pork, two bowls miso, coming up." Teuchi recited. "Ayame, come help me in the kitchen."

Ayame offered the boys a warm smile before disappearing into the kitchen with her father. Shikamaru turned to Sasuke.

"How come you're here Sasuke? I can't ever remember seeing you here before."

He asked uncaringly but curious at the same time.

Naruto cut in to answer for him.

"Didn't you know Shikamaru? Sasuke's recently discovered his love for ramen and he joins me every now and then when I ask him."

"More like when you drag me." Sasuke retorted earning a smirk from Shikamaru.

"Why do you have to be so cold Sasuke?" Naruto whined feigning hurt.

Sasuke let a light smile play on his lips at the sight in front of him. Whether he'd admit it or not he loved having a friend who he could tease, but not just any friend… a best friend.

123456

The snake Akatsuki called to his partner.

"I think it's time we leave, if we are discovered it could be very… disadvantageous for us."

"How so?" Sasori stated blandly.

"Whilst the ANBU in the bull mask is no problem, that Kakashi could cause some problems for us, also it'd be best for them to believe the girl found her way here on chance rather then us placing her there."

Sasori grunted.

"I still don't see how you could put so much faith in this girl, even if her training is as extensive as you say, with the mind seal she'll likely forget everything you've taught her."

"Don't worry about that Sasori-kun, no matter what you do, there's one thing you can't take away from an animal, and that one thing… is instinct. It is engrained in her brain, the instinct to kill, the instinct to protect ones self, these are things you can hold onto without memories." Orochimaru had a deadly glint in his eye and Sasori found himself almost sympathising for the girl. What kind of 'training' must this girl have gone through for killing to be instinctual at such a young age.

"It's time to go Sasori-kun." And with that, both cloaked Akatsuki vanished in a swirl of sand and leaves.

123456

After half an hour of searching the vicinity Kakashi found no sign of Orochimaru. He did however find traces of sand on a high up branch, which he found very peculiar. He found no plausible explanation for this; the only thing he could think of was some Suna nin had been spying on them but discarded the idea as Suna had no reason too.

'_Maybe someone was just passing by and happened to drop a jar of sand on their way?' _He mused. '_But it still doesn't explain how the girl got here…what if it was just a coincidence? No, the words Orochimaru and coincidence just don't fit together._ _He wouldn't be so foolish as to let her escape nor would he willingly hand over one of his experiments…something doesn't feel right about this._'

Kakashi was brought out of his thoughts as Rat appeared next to him.

"Senpai, Hokage-sama is requesting your presence immediately."

Kakashi sighed audibly.

"Alright."

123456

Half an hour later Naruto could be heard voicing his gratitude.

"That was great, nothing like Ichiraku ramen to liven up the day." Naruto stated, fully happy with his purchase.

"Thanks again Ojisan, Ayame-chan, I'll see you later Sasuke, Shikamaru." All gave Naruto their own farewell whether it be a nod of the head, a wave of the hand or a smile as Naruto departed the ramen stand to get in some training. As he was walking down the street he however noticed a large group of people heading towards the hospital. In the group were the Hokage-ojisan, a few ANBU and Jonin and…

"Anko-chan!"

Before Anko knew what was happening a familiar yellow mop had somehow found itself attached to her waist. His forehead was pushing slightly against her breasts, but luckily, he wasn't tall enough to make it look perverted and bury his face in them. Anko blushed at this thought and cursed the gaki for his display of affection. The group of Shinobi stopped to see what the commotion was, further embarrassing Anko.

'_Why the hell does he have to keep making blush in public?'_

The familiarity between the two didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage who promptly took the chance to tease her.

"Why Anko-_**Chan**_, as much as we'd love to wait her whilst you coddle Naruto I believe we have more pressing matters."

Anko nearly choked at this.

'_Since when the hell does he get off teasing me?_'

She quickly recomposed herself before detaching Naruto from her.

"H-hai, Hokage-sama."

Naruto frowned at the lack of contact.

"What pressing matters Ojisan?" Seeing Naruto wanted an answer and wouldn't be leaving anytime soon without getting it, Hiruzen relented.

Sighing the Hokage addressed him.

"Very well Naruto, come along and I'll explain on the way."

Naruto nodded before falling instep behind him and taking Anko's hand in his own.

Anko frowned slightly.

'_I'm not letting my guard down ever again! Aren't I supposed to be the one making the sexual jibes? Since when does the thought of a kid hugging me make ME blush? No more blushing from now on, you're in control and no fucking kid is going to change that._' She steeled her resolve. '_I have a reputation to keep up after all, I bet Konoha would find it hilarious, the 16 year old 'snake bitch' blushing whilst holding a 8 year olds hand._' She snorted out loud and scoffed at the idea. Naruto noticed her displeasure, he didn't know why she was frowning but wanted to help.

"Ne, Anko-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She said frowning.

"Don't lie Anko-chan your frowning." He pleaded.

"Am I not allowed to frown gaki?" She retorted.

"W-well… actually Anko-chan, you look much prettier when you don't frown."

Anko's face softened at this. She found herself thinking thoughts along the lines of 'how sweet'… after a second she quickly crushed these thoughts and snorted breaking her hand away from Naruto's grip.

"Nice try Romeo." She said before walking to the front of the group.

"H-hey, Anko-chan, wait for me!"

The Hokage merely smirked at this display and sighed almost dreamily.

'_How beautiful it is…being young._'

A/N:

I shoulda update like 8 hours ago but I got up late and didn't have enough time to write this chap in time for the 2 hour interval that internet is on for. As such I kinda rushed this but I think it turned out well enough. Seems I'm doing well keeping to the 2k word minimum, might bump it up to 3 or 4k. I'll try update in the Next 12 hours, if not, expect a chapter relatively soon. I'll keep up the daily/ every other day updates until around 20-40k words. R&R always appreciated.

Mt Outies.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

Ok, so I just need to address a few things. Firstly with my router was broken and when it got taken in under warranty the bloody store didn't have another one in stock, so had to wait ages to get my router for internet, hence the late update.

**IMPORTANT STARTS HERE:**

Alright so, I'll answer a few of the questions thrown my way and clear shit up. There will be a timeskip soon to the graduation but first I need to introduce the new character with the curse mark, yes she will be an OC, the only one I'll have in this story, don't be angry. Before the timeskip happens I need to establish a friendship between her and Naruto and possibly Sasuke. Secondly a few people complained about Anko being a slut, so of course to keep you guys happy, I changed this. She will most likely be a virgin in the coming years although she will still tease and keep her usual persona up, the only reason

I have lessened this for the moment is because she is younger and I feel she would be a bit more reserved. Now as for this chapter, it was one of those 'hard to write, so you write shittly to get it out of the way' chaps. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you and I tried to keep it fairly interesting. After this chapter I will start adding more fluff as suggested by Mormongoth, this will naturally mean longer chapters and I will be aiming for the 3k minimum. By the time this story hits 50k words I don't want it to have fucking 25 chaps. This chapter may be short, as I wrote this A/N when I had only written 300 words and I'm drunk and its new years eve and I'm fucking writing for you guys, fun eh :P

**UNIMPORTANT STARTS HERE!:**

As for me I have more or less become interested in the pairing of Naruto and Hanabi. I wanted to read some fics and only found 2 that were actually a decent read, although both had been discontinued so that pissed me off! Anywho, obviously I'm gonna write a fic with this pairing. No I won't discontinue this but I won't be able to do my daily/ every other day updates, especially if my Router breaks on me again. Anyway Happy New Years to everyone, enjoy the chapter or don't…. I can't think of something insightful to end this a/n with D:

**A Reason To Live:**

**Chapter 6:**

"So basically, dog mask found an experiment of this… snake bastard," Anko nodded in approval at Orochimaru's nickname. "and now we're going to the hospital to examine it?" Naruto asked curiously.

The Hokage sweat dropped slightly at the oversimplification but nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"Got it in one kid." Anko said.

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Upon arrival to the hospital the ANBU who had been stationed to watch the room parted as the Hokage and his 'entourage' entered. Naruto was jumping off the walls with excitement trying to get a look at what this so called 'experiment' was until one of the ANBU present put a hand on the kids shoulder and told him to 'settle the fuck down' much to Naruto's chagrin and Anko's delight as she found herself chuckling. Naruto just pouted, but kept his composure as he weaved his way to the front of the group. When he saw a bruised girl around his age lying on the hospital bed he was more then slightly confused.

"Hey, Ojisan, where's the experiment?" He asked. A few of the others in the room slightly scowled at the informality of the boy's words but didn't say anything.

The Hokage didn't seem to hear him as he grumbled something to himself.

He sighed before announcing.

"This is indeed the work of Orochimaru, the curse mark this child bears is identical to the one Anko bears."

Anko grimaced at that; she didn't like being reminded of her former Sensei, or being connected to him in anyway. Naruto however became more confused.

"Anko-chan, what's he talking about?"

Anko didn't really want to go into detail so rather then say anything she simply moved the collar of her trench coat, revealing her curse mark to the others. Naruto was still ignorant of the situation so Anko decided to answer his unasked question.

"Mark of the bastard snake."

The ensuing back and forth questioning seemed to rouse the sleeping girl from her sleep. Everyone quietened down considerably as she sat up in her bed and started rubbing her eyes. Everyone had their eyes on the girl and a deathly silence permeated throughout the room. Once the girl had her bearings about her she noticed everyone was staring at her. In response she simply gave a curious look back and spoke.

"Is there something on my face?"

Everyone sweat dropped at the girl's apparent ignorance of her current predicament. Naruto however narrowed his eyes at the girl and she seemed to catch his stare. After a few more seconds of silence Naruto replied in a very serious manner.

"No, not that I can see."

Anko couldn't contain herself and started laughing aloud whilst many others face vaulted into the ground. The Hokage sighed in exasperation.

"Naruto-kun, as much as we love your input, for the good of this 'information extraction' please do remain silent."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head rather sheepishly before saying he'd keep his talking to a minimum. The person who would be the source of the information looked on with a bored expression.

'_I guess that means me then, although they won't be getting anything from me cause I don't remember squat…although that yellow haired boy's name rings a bell…Naruto…'_

"Little one," Hiruzen addressed the girl, "What is your name?"

The girl in question put a finger to her mouth as she pouted, apparently having difficulty remembering the answer to this specific question.

"I think… it was…Chu..no…Chi…ka…no that's not right…" She trailed off mumbling to herself. Suddenly a smile adorned her features and she seemed to remember, if the triumphant grin on her face was anything to go by.

"It's Chikuru."

"I see, do you know where you are Chikuru-chan?" The Sandaime questioned.

Chikuru frowned at this question as she didn't know the answer and shook her head to show this.

"What do you know of Orochimaru?"

Again Chikuru frowned and then shook her head. Inwardly Hiruzen frowned as well, he tried to look for any tell tale sign that she was withholding information, but none showed.

"Is there anything other than your name that you remember?" He questioned seriously.

Chikuru frowned again but began to delve deep into her mind to see if any memories were forthcoming, the next thing that happened she had no control over, as she started rattling off a considerable amount of things in under 5 seconds.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu, Housenka, Kawarimi, Bunshin, Uzumaki, Uchiha."

Her eyes widened when these things systematically left her mouth.

"That's right… I'm a Shinobi…" she was about to continue when she realised the last two things she said.

"Ojisan," She addressed the Hokage, making a few sweat drop and others scowl, although Naruto's smirk reassured her. "What's an Uzumaki and an Uchiha?"

Hiruzen again frowned inwardly.

'_Obviously this girl is at least of genin level if she knows the jutsu she just recited, although considering her curse mark and 'teacher' she could very well be high Chunin to Jonin level…and why does she know about Naruto much less the Uchiha…something is indeed going on…what are you planning my student?'_ Hiruzen like Kakashi wasn't one to believe in coincidence, sure the girls memory had seemingly been erased for the most part, but why not just kill her and save the trouble of erasing her memory… and the fact that she actually turned up here as anything but a corpse spoke volumes.

"I'm too old for this…" He muttered aloud.

Only the ones standing closest heard him and raised an eyebrow, he however recomposed himself and answered the girl's question.

"Uzumaki, is the last name of our very own Naruto-kun here," The Sandaime said pointing to in his direction. Naruto took this as his queue and offered his hand, which Chikuru took in her own and returned the grin he gave her.

"as for the Uchiha, they are a clan of the finest Shinobi situated here in Konoha."

Chikuru nodded in understanding and then frowned.

"If so then why do I know of them… if I couldn't recognize my surroundings it means I either forgot or I'm not from around here…and if I'm not from Konoha…"

"Yes we are currently in the process of trying to find out how you came to Konoha as well as the…special mark you bear and the person who gave it to you."

By now it was clear that Chikuru had more or less forgotten all information of importance, however the fact that she remembered Uzumaki and Uchiha meant that exposure to either may help her in recovering her memories. Apparently before arrival the Yamanaka clan head had taken a try at the girls memories but came back with nothing.

'_I guess I'll have to leave it up to Naruto then…I Just hope I'm not playing into Orochimaru's hand._'

"Everyone please leave, I have something to discuss with Naruto-kun and Chikuru."

And at that moment, two seeds were planted… one of friendship…and the other…well…

A/N:

Ight, I know this chap was disappointing but it was just one of those chaps you have a hard time writing and you just NEED to get out of the way. I promise next chap will have LOTS of fluff and juicy Anko blushing and the works. This chapter was a pathetic 1.1k words, my shortest for this story ever! Next is promised to be 3k. I'll have it up within 5 days of this update, unless unforeseen circumstances occur. Suggestions on if I should make the Uchiha massacre happen, it will obviously change Sasuke's persona and I quite like him how he is,

INFO ON CHIKURU:

I haven't got a definite character down for her, but I'll make her procrastinate a lot, she'll be very perceptive and what not…and it's 4am and I can't be fucked writing anymore. I'll put up a description of her in the next chap, I also might post a drawing I did of her on my profile, I'm a decent drawer so I hope I can show what she looks like well enough. Fucking tired, mothers nagging me, I'm ranting, Good night people… again I apologise for the late update and this shit chapter but be aware I'll make it up so much with the next chappy, till then…. Adios.

(P.s 600 words of A/N FUCKING FUN READING!)


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